Pearl Jam Honor Late Fan and His Family

After donating $50,000 to the Blessings in a Backpack Program recently, Pearl Jam illustrate their kindness once again and show that they are as devoted to their fans as their fans are to them. The band proved this by making Christmas for one New Hampshire family a memorable one.

Back in 1992, the members of Pearl Jam gave 17-year-old Josh Hardy, who was dying of brain cancer, an autographed Fender guitar as part of the Make-a-Wish foundation. Josh’s younger brother Ben Hardy kept the guitar as a memento after his brother passed away, but unfortunately the autographed keepsake was stolen along with other items. “I made an inventory of everything taken — a new amplifier, power tools, a sound system, clothing … but the guitar was the one thing I wanted to get back more than anything else,” Hardy tells the Boston Herald.

Just before Hardy was headed home to Durham, N.H., for Christmas, he got what he hoped for. “FedEx delivered a new guitar,” he says. “In a note, Pearl Jam said they’ve been following the story and this is what they decided to do. It’s an amazing gesture of goodwill. It exceeds expectations … They went above and beyond.”

His mother, Donna Hardy says, “It’s a blessing for our family to have all this happen. This is our Christmas story. Pearl Jam is amazing and to think that they remembered Josh after all these years is incredible.”

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